Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The William Van Regenmorter Victim's Rights Act provides crime victims with many rights, including restitution and notices of various kinds during and following disposition of the criminal case.

Oh, but that just isn't good enough for our Democrat colleagues. Once again, they have found a way to demagogue an issue in the name of "the little guy" which will only result in more burdens on businesses, especially the smaller business owners. House Bills 5900, 5901 and 5902 would provide unpaid time off from work, up to 12 WEEKS to attend court proceedings where they have been a victim. This would include felonies, misdemeanors and juvenile offenses. Companies with fewer than 25 employees and civil service employees are excluded.

Once again, we have a situation where government is sticking their nose uneccessarily into the private sector. What might the impact of this legislation be? Think about it; there are thousands of crimes or misdemeanors committed each year where there is a victim who may want time off to attend court proceedings. Sounds like a great way to get an unpaid break from the hum-drum work scene. (Granted, the bill includes a requirement that the victim get a note from the court clerk that they have been in attendance.)

And what will this mean for employers? Well, for one thing, employers will have one more thing to factor in when deciding whether to expand or locate in this state.

Oh, by the way, 93% of all employers already are compassionate enough to do this for their employees already.

Let's just drive Michigan's economy right through the floor. Let's put more burdens on businesses. Let's make the working poor pay for infrastructure, repairs, health care for everybody, and so on. Now how about a novel idea: let's dump the leaches, and force the abusers of our public services agencies to make amends.